RAPID CITY - The Greater Dakota Conference girls high school tennis tournament is in Rapid City on Monday and Tuesday, but the league showdown will seem as much of a road trip for host teams Rapid City Stevens and Rapid City Central, as it is for the four Sioux Falls schools, joined by West River teams Spearfish and Sturgis.

Both the Raiders and Cobblers will play two days of challenging matches in Aberdeen on Friday and Saturday, then just have one day to travel home and regroup before the dual-meet format GDC kicks off Monday at three Rapid City sites.

"Both us and the Sioux Falls schools will be traveling on Sunday, so that's a wash. They're used to playing on our courts out here now, but at least we get to sleep in our own beds," Rapid City Stevens Raiders coach Jason Olson said.

Stevens could need all the rest it can get to pull off another GDC title. A weekly coaches' poll has the Raiders trailing Sioux Falls O'Gorman, which has backed up the pick by beating the Raiders each of the three times the teams have met this season.

Olson said the teams have played closer than dual meet scores (8-1) have indicated.

"It could have been us winning 5-4. In four matches, we lost a third set after we were ahead in all of them," Olson said. "We're right there with them in a dual. Teamwise, we need to do better at the top."

An injury to Morgan Paluch meant Olson had to move Flight 3 player Kaitlyn Wright up to team with Lauren Shultz in Flight 1 singles against Rapid City Central on Tuesday.

Shultz and Wright blanked Central's Hallie Sims and Abby Salkowski.

In singles play, Shultz topped Sims in Flight 1, while Wright got the better of Salkowski.

Both the Raiders and the Cobblers will have to deal with O'Gorman's top-ranked singles players in junior Theresa Petrasko and Meg Townsend. The Knights are stout in the rest of the singles and doubles flights as well.

"(Coach) Don (Barnes) has done a great job with them," Olson said about O'Gorman. "They have no fear of anyone, and they just play."

Sioux Falls Roosevelt (third) and Sioux Falls Lincoln (fourth) are currently ranked in the top five. Sioux Falls Washington has been lurking in or near the top five as well.

"The hardest thing about the GDC is that all four Sioux Falls Schools are so tough," Olson said.

Rapid City Central fell 9-0 to O'Gorman, Sioux Falls Lincoln and cross-town rival Stevens, but Cobbler coach Doug Lecy thought his young team also played better.

"It's going to be a tough weekend for us, so I'm hoping we can come out and play like we did (against Stevens) and hopefully we can win a few matches," he said.

"O'Gorman is really tough," Lecy said. "They're head and shoulders above anyone in the state. We're looking at having some really close matches with the other Sioux Falls schools."

Stevens and O'Gorman square off Monday at the Sioux Park courts, while Central hosts Lincoln at Memorial Park.

Sturgis (0-5), takes on Sioux Falls Washington at North Middle School, with Spearfish opening the tourney against Sioux Falls Roosevelt, also at Sioux Park.